


What Was Lost is Found Again

by lasairfhiona



Series: love_bingo [1]
Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: Character Death Fix, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-05
Updated: 2013-04-05
Packaged: 2017-12-07 13:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/748791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasairfhiona/pseuds/lasairfhiona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Horatio and Calleigh get a surprise when they go to an art exhibit</p>
<p>post "Lost Son" nothing is canon related past that episode.<br/>I'm cleaning out the Work in Progress folder...</p>
<p>love_bingo<br/>prompt: We are family</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Was Lost is Found Again

"Tell me again Calleigh, why are we going to this exhibit?" Horatio asked as they walked into the gallery showing the _Studies in the Humanity and Nature of the West_ Photography Exhibit.

"Because I thought it looked interesting. The morning show was showcasing one of the new artists to the exhibit and the photographs reminded me of some of Tim's photography and with it being the anniversary... I thought... well..."

Horatio nodded. Yeah, he understood all too well why she'd want to come to the exhibit. He'd seen the resemblance to Tim's private photography himself and originally was planning to avoid coming to the exhibit for fear of the reminder, but he ended up giving in to Calleigh's request mostly because he didn't want her to be alone. 

As they had every year for the last five years, they spent the day together going to Speed's grave to lay flowers, wildflowers and weeds because they could hear Tim railing against the fru-fru bouquets, then they would go to dinner, often at one of Speed's favourite places. They would finish out the evening by going to the beach or back to one of their houses for drinks and an evening of reminiscing about things they never talked about any other time of the year. It was their way of honoring their friend. This time, however, they went to the exhibit after an early dinner knowing full well they would either end up either at the beach or back to Speed's grave when they left. 

They made their way around the exhibit moving from one photographer's area to another. It wasn't until they reached the area for Sam Weston that they really took an interest in what they were seeing. Not to say the others in the exhibit weren't good but they hadn't captured what Weston did, plus it was Weston's work that piqued Calleigh's interest in the first place. Slowly they walked through his exhibit. They couldn't help but comment on not only on the beauty captured in the photo but of the depth and texture of the each one. The scenery, candid photos of real working 'cowboys' and wildlife wasn't what stopped Calleigh and Horatio in their tracks, however. It was the self portraits the others mostly passed by with hardly a glance that caught their eye. All had the man's face hidden from view doing everyday things. A man with salt and peppered hair, his face hidden by the calf he was carrying. Another with him cleaning the hooves of a horse, his jeans ripped with bright colored shorts underneath. Sleeping on a bale of hay, an arm thrown over his face with a hint of a tattoo showing on his forearm. Calleigh stopped in front of one with the man wearing dirty jeans, cowboy boots, and the sleeves of his denim shirt rolled to the middle of his forearms. 

Horatio snorted as he stood in front of one where the man reclining against a tree in jeans, a long sleeve shirt unbuttoned and left slightly open but still covering most of his torso a book laying open over his leg. Once again a hat pulled down over his face.

"What?" Calleigh asked, curious as to what Horatio found so amusing.

"It's the latest in a murder mystery series I turned Speed on to years ago," Horatio explained, pointing to the book title. "It just seems funny, that's all. To see the title and the artist in a pose I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I found Speed in."

"For me it's this one," she said pointing to the one she was standing in front of next to him. "I told Speed one time when we went out to the dunes and rented ATVs that I could totally see him kicked back napping on one of these a la cowboy meets surfer dude. I gave him a leather bracelet with shells on it similar to the one the photographer is wearing as a joke." 

"I remember him wearing that bracelet for weeks afterward," Horatio said with a laugh. "And how hard of a time he had trying to get it tucked into his latex gloves because he refused to take it off."

"Yeah, he did," Calleigh echoed, smiling at the memory then added, as she looked at the photograph again. "I miss him..."

%%%%%

'Sam Weston' stood nervously watching as the attendees milled around at the exhibit. He sometimes could overhear their comments and couldn't help but smile at the some times hoity-toity analysis of what he was trying to achieve with the image. Even with the amusement factor of listening to the comments, he didn't want to be here, even after all this time, being in Miami hurt.

He'd spent ninety percent of his life in Witness Protection as a result of something his parents saw when he was just a kid. Their new identities had been so solid there hadn't been a need to relocate them on a regular basis. He went through one precautionary name change when he came to Miami but that was the first time since the original. Something must have triggered the Marshall Service's alarms, possibly concerning his last cases, because he suddenly found himself waking up from a gun shot wound to this chest in a strange hospital with a new name. He'd railed against the relocation but his desires were overruled by the Marshall in charge of his case. He was thankful they conceded to allowing him to just change his name, again, and to go his friend's ranch in Wyoming. Besides learning how to become a rancher, and helping his friend raise her daughter, photography became his outlet. Not having to focus on the blood and evidence, he started to experiment more with angles and lighting, colors and textures. It was refreshing to get to be able to shoot living things as well as be able to try new techniques and things he only touched on when he had a chance while he lived in Miami as Tim Speedle. 

When he saw Horatio and Calleigh walk in his heart clenched. He retreated to a dark corner on the loft above the exhibit to watch them as they walked through the exhibit together. He watched as they looked at but didn't pay too much notice to the other photographers and artists and then as they would put their heads together to discuss something that caught their eye once they moved into his section. It wasn't until he saw them together he realized exactly how much he missed them. Thumping his clenched fist against the railing, he swore under his breath, "Dammit." He really hated this. Hated hiding from the two people who meant the most to him while he lived in Miami.

"Who are you watching so intently?"

He wrapped his arm around her waist as he answered, "Horatio and Calleigh, down by the self-portraits. I knew it was a mistake to bring those. "

"Why?"

"Because they will recognize them," he answered.

"How would they recognize them? They have never seen Sam Weston's work and they certainly don't know you're still alive do they?"

He knew Ronnie was confused. She knew all about his friends from his letters and phone calls when he lived in Miami but she never knew the depth of the friendship he had with the two standing below them. No one really had but the three of them. "Because they know me. Because those were done for them. Because if I know Calleigh, right now she's down there wondering if there was some mistake and I'm really alive and Horatio's trying to be reasonable and put it off to a weird coincidence all the while trying to tamp down the same thought without letting Calleigh know."

"Oh Tim..." she said, slipping and using his old name, as she hugged him tighter.

"Will you go talk to them for me? See how they are. What they think of the exhibit." he asked. He wanted to know so many things. Ronnie wouldn't be able to ask for specifics but she knew how to ask questions to find out something indirectly.

%%%%%

"Are you enjoying the exhibit?"

Calleigh looked over at the dark haired, dark eyed woman sporting a dressy pant suit who approached them.

"Very much so," Horatio answered for both of them.

"You seem to be very interested in the self-portraits?"

"If it were five years ago, I would have said they were taken by a friend of ours, or maybe more to the point five years ago it could have seen a friend of ours in the photograph, or at least these two, " Calleigh answered, indicating the two photographs that caught her and Horatio's eye. This time she voiced what had been running through her mind since she saw the photos.

Even though she knew the answer Ronnie had to ask, "If you don't mind me asking, why five years ago?"

"He was killed in the line of duty," Horatio answered, matter of factly.

"Today is the anniversary," Calleigh added, quietly. 

"I'm so sorry," Ronnie said. It wasn't hard to see how much they still cared for Tim. She wished she could tell them something. She wished there was some comfort she could give them. 

"Do you work with the Gallery?" Horatio finally asked, wondering who was so curious about their reaction to the photographs. 

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Veronica Weston, Sam Weston is my husband."

Calleigh looked at her blankly for a moment. "You husband does wonderful work."

"Thank you. He's always dabbled with it since we were kids but I finally convinced him to really per sue it," when she saw their strange expression, she clarified, "I've known him forever. You could say we were childhood sweethearts."

"Oh..." Calleigh said blushing slightly, her fantasy that it was Tim shooting under a different name, shattered.

"No worries. We live in a small town where everyone knows everyone; I sometimes forget what it's like to be in a big city again. It's been so long since I lived in one."

"I'll be right back," Horatio said tapping Calleigh on the shoulder before walking away. He needed to step outside, get away from the memories.

Calleigh nodded and turned back to Veronica, "I grew up in a town like that, it's why I moved to Miami," Calleigh admitted with a smile then asked, "How long have you been married?"

"Not long really but it seems like forever. Like you I ran away from my small town, I got married, had a daughter, and when my first husband died, my daughter, Gracie, and I moved back home and we got back together."

Calleigh listened to 'Mrs. Weston' tell her story with a smile on her face. The pieces all came together and her fantasy became a reality. "Ronnie, tell him we love and miss him," she finally said.

"Excuse me?" 

"Ronnie Weston. Your husband was killed in a small plane crash six, maybe seven years ago, I don't remember exactly, at which point in time you left Texas and moved back to the family ranch in Wyoming."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Speed and I were having dinner when he heard the news of the plane crash he didn't know you weren't on that plane so he assumed you and your daughter were killed. He ended up getting drunk and in his alcohol induced haze, he told me all about the two of you and your friendship," Calleigh explained.

"You were the one who answered the phone?"

"Yeah..." Calleigh nodded. "I'd been up all night with him making sure he didn't do something stupid. And then your phone call came just as we'd finally gone to bed. I'd forgotten all about it until now but between the photos and your name it clicked."

"Does Horatio know?" Ronnie asked, wondering if the red-head had also figured it out. 

"I don't think so," Calleigh answered. "I doubt Speed ever mentioned you to anyone else and we never talked about it again except for once when we were talking about that night and he told me you and your daughter were going back to the family ranch."

Ronnie thought for a moment then made a decision she hoped Tim wouldn't kill her for. "I can't make any promises, but you might want to go visit his grave later tonight. Say after midnight sometime."

Calleigh nodded and when she saw Horatio approaching she told Ronnie, "It was a pleasure to meet you. Please tell your husband he does wonderful work."

"Thank you. I will," Ronnie replied then left the two of them.

"Ready?" Horatio asked once Ronnie walked away.

"Yeah, I need a drink."

Horatio nodded, Calleigh wasn't far off the mark of what he wanted to do. Things were too close to the surface and he needed to get away and clear his head from the suspicious that were suddenly running rampant in his head.

%%%%%

Calleigh sat at the bar and stared into her gin and tonic. She couldn't find the words. Any words. There was just too much to process.

"Thinking about the exhibit?" Horatio finally questioned. His own thoughts filled with the exhibit and the self- portraits.

"Yeah..." she replied then continued, "I just can't get over how much Sam Weston's work looks like Speed's." She wanted to see if Horatio suspected anything. 

"It brings back a lot of memories." While he hadn't seen as much as Tim's photography as Calleigh, he had other memories of drinks on the beach and long discussions about books, science, and the world in general with Tim.

"Too many and it hurts, you know..." It hurt to lose her friend. It hurt to know he was still alive and not a part of her life. He'd been her best friend. The one person she would and did share her secrets with. But he was also so much more than that and she'd been lost after his death until Horatio helped her pick up the pieces. In a lot of respects he eventually became what Speed had been to her but she never got over her feelings for Tim.

"Yes, I do," Horatio agreed his voice lowering.

"Can we go back to the cemetery"? Calleigh asked, pushing her half drank drink away. "I just want to sit with him for a while." 

"We can." He stood after throwing money on the bar and guided her toward the door. He wanted to talk to her away from anyone else. He needed to run a suspicion he had by her to see what she thought about it and Speed's grave seemed as good a place as any to do it. Apropos in fact.

%%%%%

Calleigh slowly followed Horatio to Tim's grave.

"Calleigh are you okay"? Horatio asked concerned about her increasing quietness.

"Yeah... I miss him. I'm mad at him. I thought I got over being pissed at him for being so stupid but I guess I didn't," she tried to explain, but everything was a wash of emotions some she couldn't explain. Not yet. Not until.

He pulled her into his arms. "I know," he soothed, holding her and rubbing her back.

"Damn you." Calleigh exclaimed as she pushed away from Horatio turned and kicked the headstone ignoring the fact it hurt like hell when she did it. 

"Calleigh!" Horatio said, surprised by her actions. He'd never see her react like this. 

"Let her be. She has every right to be pissed, H."

"Speed?" Horatio said looking into the shadows, afraid to believe he'd really heard Tim's voice, and suddenly angry for the same reason.

"Yeah..." Speed answered as he walked out of the shadows toward them.

"What the hell?" Horatio exclaimed, it was one thing to suspect Tim might be alive but it was another thing to be faced with the reality of those suspicions.

"Damn you!" Calleigh repeated as she hit Speed full in the chest with both hands. "Damn you," she said again as he took her in his arms and held her while she cried. 

"I didn't have a choice, Cal. I would never have left if it had been up to me," he soothed then holding out one hand to his friend, he said, "H," over Calleigh's head.

Horatio took Speed's hand and pulled both he and Calleigh to him. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"I know..."

Calleigh pulled back and just looked at Speed, reaching up to run her hand along his beard. "I've missed you so much," she said when he brushed the last of her tears away.

"Me too," he told Calleigh then keeping an arm around her, leaned against his headstone and waited for their questions.

"Explain," Horatio told him as he crossed his arms to keep from making a fool of himself by grabbing Speed and not letting go.

"It's a long story," Speed commented, leaning his shoulder into Horatio's.

"We've got all night," Calleigh told him.

"There's a bench over there," Speed pointed to the bench under the trees and in the shadows away from the lighted walkway. "Let's go sit." 

Sitting in the dark, he leaned back with Calleigh tucked in against him, her head resting on his chest, and Horatio sitting close enough for their shoulders to be in constant contact.

"Now explain," Horatio repeated.

Speed took a deep breath. "My birth name was Michael Timothy O'Neill and I've been a part of the Witness Protection program since I was seven," he started his explanation. He told them everything about his family, what they saw, the name changes, the relocations and his current location, and his longtime friendship with Ronnie's family. "I didn't want to leave Miami, but I was given no alternative. My monitors aren't happy with me being back here for the exhibit, but they conceded as long as I promised to stay away from MDPD. I guess they didn't count on MDPD coming to me," he finished sadly.

"You didn't have to break your cover. You could have left with us being none the wiser," Horatio told them, understanding the risk he was taking by seeing them.

"Yes, I did. The minute I saw the two of you, I knew I had to talk to you, besides Calleigh figured it out. I forgot I'd told her about Ronnie and Gracie," he said as he reached out and laid his hand on Horatio's knee.

Horatio looked over at Calleigh. "You didn't tell me?"

Calleigh dipped her head. "I was going to if he didn't show up tonight. Ronnie made no guarantees he'd be here," she tried to explain.

Horatio took Speed's hand, giving it a squeeze and leaned harder against Speed's shoulder. "Why?" he asked. Like Calleigh he was filled with both joy and anger.

Speed shrugged. "Seeing you, watching you as you looked at the self-portraits, seeing your hurt, I couldn't not talk to you, but I needed to make sure I could slip my leash," he tried to explain.

"You took the pictures for us," Calleigh asked, tightening her arm around him.

Speed nodded. "Yeah... But I also took them for me. To remind me of who I had been was with you. I never intended for them to be in the show, but my agent insisted when he saw them in my dark room." 

"Tim..." Calleigh started to say.

Putting his fingers to her lips, he stopped her words. "Don't Cal...," he requested. "We can't go back, as much as I want to, and there is no forward for all of us together. There is only a forward for me and a forward for the two of you along a separate road." He didn't want to get their hopes up that there could be letters and phone calls. Although he knew once Calleigh thought about it later, she'd know there would be a way for them to stay in touch. She'd already put two and two together about Ronnie and knew that friendship had withstood the test.

"We're not going to see you again are we?" Calleigh asked sitting up and shifting around so she could look at him. She didn't want to believe she'd found her best friend again only to lose him.

Tim shook his head. "No. We can't," he answered sadly. He wanted to tell them he would come back but he knew that wasn't a possibility. He wouldn’t risk putting their lives in danger anymore than they already were. 

Horatio leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and looked over at Speed. He'd expected Speed's answer to Calleigh's question. He didn't like it, but it wasn't unexpected. But in some weird way knowing Tim was alive and living his life was a comfort even if he knew they couldn't be involved in that life. He did have one question he'd like answered. "Who in the department was in on it?"

"H?" Speed questioned. He was pretty sure he knew what Horatio was asking but he wanted it spelled out before he broke any confidences. 

"It was Alexx wasn't it?" Calleigh stated. "She's the only one it could have been. There was no way a fake body would have gotten past her if she hadn't been in on it."

Speed just nodded. She'd figured it out so there was no need to go into details.

Calleigh had so much more she wanted to ask Speed about his life now, about Ronnie. She had so much she wanted to tell him but she wasn't sure where to even start. Horatio, however, had no such problems and as if reading Calleigh's mind asked about Speed's life in Wyoming.

Tim told them about his life in Wyoming. Working on the cattle ranch and the wild horse he raised and trained. In turn they caught him up on all the goings on in the lab or at least the things Alexx hadn't already told him about. They talked until the sky started to lighten and Speed knew it was time for him to leave. Alexx had long ago told him Eric always came to his grave the day after so he wouldn't disturb Calleigh and Horatio and their ritual. With a hug and a kiss he left them standing by the bench all the while vowing not to look back as he walked away.

Calleigh watched him go and when he was out of sight she turned in Horatio's arms and cried. It was like losing him all over again.

"H? Calleigh? I'm surprised to see you here," Eric said coming up on them as he headed to Speed's grave.

"We were at the beach all night and just decided to stop one more time on our way home," Horatio explained. He didn't trust that Calleigh would be able to lie to Eric convincingly where as Eric wouldn't doubt what he told him. "We'll leave you to your visit," he finished guiding Calleigh away. Thankfully, they had the day off as well.

%%%%%

It had been a week since she first met Horatio and Calleigh. Now once again she was on a mission from Tim. This time he had her delivering the self-portraits to them for him. Ronnie walked in to the station, the packages she carried tucked under her arm.

"May I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"I have a delivery for Lt Horatio Caine and Calleigh Duquesne," she said with a smile. 

"I'll page them for you. Your name?"

"Veronica Weston." 

"Are you related to the photographer Sam Weston?" Christina, the receptionist asked.

"His wife," Ronnie answered with a smile.

"Oh wow. I was at the exhibit just before it closed. Your husband's work is amazing. I love the landscapes. I picked up several of the prints to hang in my apartment," Christina gushed. When she saw the DNA specialist walk in she called, "Hey Maxine."

"What's up?" Valera asked as she walked up to the reception desk.

"This is Sam Weston's wife," she told Valera since they had gone to the exhibit together.

Valera's eyes widened at being introduced to Ronnie. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I love your husband's black and whites. They are very Ansel Adams like but yet not." 

"Thank you. He's still amazed at the reception his hobby, as he calls it, has received," Ronnie said. She couldn't help but smile indulgently as another couple of people came over and started talking about the exhibit. Of course she would tell Tim everything but she wished there was some way she could capture their excitement for him to be able to see and hear.

"I had a co-worker who used to shoot a lot of black and white as a hobby, there were elements about your husband's work that reminded me of his," Valera told Ronnie.

"Who?" Ryan asked butting into the conversation.

"Speed," Valera replied wistfully.

"I met him briefly while I was still in Patrol but I wish I'd been able to get to know him. He seemed like a great guy."

"He was," Christina confirmed. "He was helping me with a creative photography class I was taking. If it wasn't for him, I would have never made it through the class. He had an amazing eye for close up photography and being able to capture the texture to make it look touchable."

"Speedle never took anything like that."

"Little you know Delko," Valera told him indignantly. "Just ask Calleigh."

"Ask Calleigh what?" she said coming up behind them.

"About Speed being more than just a crime scene photographer."

"He always use to say he never had enough time to shoot the kind of pictures he wanted too," Calleigh told them before turning to Christina and asking, "You said I had a guest?"

Christina pointed toward where Ronnie had retreated away from Tim's former co-workers to stand near the benches. 

Calleigh smiled and stepped around Eric and Maxine who were still quietly arguing about Speed being a photographer. "Mrs. Weston, it's good to see you again."

"Mrs. Weston," Horatio greeted as he came up behind Calleigh.

"I was in the neighborhood so I decided to drop your order off," Ronnie said as she handed the frames wrapped in brown paper to each of them.

"That was very nice of you. Thank you," Calleigh said covering for Horatio's sudden silence.

"It was no trouble, I know how hard it is to wait receive something you've ordered," Ronnie commented then reaching into her pocket she pulled out an envelope and handed it to Horatio." I almost forget to give you the _letter_ of authenticity." Her emphasis on the word letter would tell them it was more than it seemed. She watched as Horatio opened the letter and put their heads together to read it.

_Cal and H,_

_What might have been can never be._  
No matter how much I would like it to.  
H, I miss our friendship  
Cal, I just miss you.   
All of you, and everything we were and could have been together.  
You both deserve to be happy, so be happy together. 

_If you ever find yourself out west:_  
Forge a trail to:  
Lost Souls Ranch  
Sunlight Basin Road  
Wyoming 

_All my love, TS._

 

Horatio folded the letter, putting it in his jacket pocket. "Thank you, Ronnie," he said quietly as he wrapped an arm around Calleigh, knowing she was close to tears. He had to get her away from everyone before she gave in to them and their co-workers began to ask questions. 

Ronnie nodded and left the lab. She had a feeling she'd bee seeing at least Calleigh again. The simple fact Tim had told her about the ranch, Gracie and herself spoke volumes to what their relationship had been. She loved Tim and was glad things turned out the way they had. With the prospect of seeing Calleigh and Horatio again, the missing pieces of Tim would be filled.


End file.
